I opened up my Thursday Night teaching with the following quote. What do you think about what this position?
"Many people come to me for counsel wanting to train their flesh, trying to break various habits. They want to train their bodies not to overeat. They want to train their minds to think the right thoughts, their wills to make strong positive decisions, and their emotions to feel good at the right time. Almost everywhere we go, those in authority teach us some method of training the flesh. We are taught to train the flesh at home, school, work, and sometimes even at church. Some years ago when I surrendered to pastoral ministry, various ministers instructed me to build up my body and train my soul that I might become the minister that God wanted me to be. I tried it, but it did not work. The problem is that we can not train the flesh to live the Christian life. Why? The Flesh can not please God. God did not create us to live the spiritual life with physical strength or soul power. When we try to do so, the result is death, opposed to life and peace. The carnal mind stands against God. It is not under the authority of the law of God. It can never be trained to perform."
-Basil Frasure, Ph.D
Romans 8:5-8
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5 comments:
The message that you preach on thursday night was so relevant. I cannot count how many times I have found myself in that position, working so hard to produce results that only God can produce. And then God reminds me Julie it is not you, it is me. I like what it says in Ephesians 2.8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.
Thank you Pastor Steve for bringing life through the truth of the Word for our spiritual growth. We are blessed!
Pastor Steve,
How do Christians do the right things the wrong way?
Let's consider some "spiritual behaviors" than encompass the life of a Christian: Battling sins, resisting temptations, spiritual disciplines (praying and reading the Bible), Commitments/Promises, Serving God/others, social justice, being a witness,thoughts/attitudes, to man a few.
These are all "right" things. But when we as believers attempt to perform these things, through will power, self effort or our own strength, it becomes overwhelming and discouraging because we will always disappoint ourselves.
We find ourselves deeply embedded within the "Romans 7 experience".
Rom. 7:18 "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
We become people trying to live out a SPIRITUAL life through a FLESHLY existence. God wants to take us out of Romans 7 and into Romans 8.
Rom. 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
Returning to simple faith that rests on Christ alone as the source of all strength is th solution.
We can go all things THROUGH CHRIST, not through self.
So in other words you are saying that we cannot live a Godly life without God, which I completely agree with. I can say that as a christian, sometimes it is discouraging trying to do things in the flesh.You as our sheperd, are to lead your flock, I think you are doing a great job, I want to Thank you for taking the time out to explain....
Pastor Steve,
you said that people struggle everyday with temptation, How do you,as a Pastor of a church, fight temptation? Is it no different then when we the people of the church, fight temptation? Is it possible to not have any temptation at all?
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